NonprofitWatch.org
John Kerry's Enron Hypocrisy:
Kerry Has Bashed Bush Regarding Enron
But Ignored His Wife's Ties to Enron
and How Her Environmental Advocacy Benefited Enron.
A new briefing of NonprofitWatch.org challenges Teresa Heinz's philanthropy. Since at least 1995, Teresa Heinz had a close relationship with Enron's Ken Lay; he served as a trustee of Teresa's Heinz Center for Economics, Environment and Science. As a wealthy CEO, Kenny Boy no doubt was expected to contribute generously to the Heinz Center.
NonprofitWatch.org points to a variety of Enron-favorable policy stances with which Teresa was associated with through her role as vice-chair and major funder of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Involved in mischief at home and abroad, EDF opposed a 1998 initiative to repeal California's utility deregulation and stood publicly silent regarding Enron's construction of an environmentally harmful pipeline through the Brazilian Amazon. Both these positions were environmentally disastrous. Moreover, utility deregulation opened the door for Enron to rob Californians and carry out the company's over-the-top support of George W. Bush and other anti-environmental politicians and think tanks. Multiple other positions supported by EDF also benefited Enron, as described in a briefing available on the website of NonprofitWatch.org.
Teresa Heinz was either woefully ignorant of the criticism of Enron and EDF's stances, or chose to ignore the criticism to maintain her ties to Lay and other corporate interests, or was swayed and influenced by Lay and these corporate interests to believe that EDF's Enron-favorable policies were also in the best interest of the environment. Either way, the relationship to Lay coupled with the Enron favorable advocacy poorly reflects upon her role as a philanthropist and environmentalist.
In light of his wife's involvement with Ken Lay, Senator John Kerry's criticism of Bush for being influenced by Enron seems hypocritical. The public deserves an explanation of the Senator's views on these matters. The American public doesn't need another presidential administration where "Kenny Boy" has influence.
This is the first in a planned series of briefings to critically examine Teresa Heinz's philanthropic activities. In addition, should time and resources permit, NonprofitWatch.org is collecting materials for a book regarding Teresa and considering an activist campaign to follow Kerry on the campaign trail to demand accountability for Teresa's complicity in the environmental and societal malfeasance caused by Enron.
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